Submitted by Sacramento (Calif.) Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Referred to the Resolutions Committee
WHEREAS, a military coup kidnapped the democratically elected President of Honduras on June 28, 2009, and overthrew the government;
WHEREAS, labor unions, teachers, students, farm workers, LGBT activists, indigenous groups and human rights organizations have formed a resistance movement that has led the struggle for a return to democracy;
WHEREAS, tens of thousands of Hondurans have taken to the streets in nationwide demonstrations of resistance and have maintained their struggle for three years despite a continuing human rights crisis that has left hundreds of activists murdered;
WHEREAS, a substantial opposition party was born out of the resistance movement and is participating in the national elections at the end of November 2013. The LIBRE Party is running ahead of the oligarchy’s pro-coup parties, but its candidates and supporters are the targets of violence and intimidation;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Central Labor Councils of the AFL-CIO will urge their Members of Congress to contact the Department of State and urge the Secretary of State to demand that national elections in Honduras be run free of threats, coercion, or intimidation of candidates, their supporters, or voters; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the AFL-CIO will encourage affiliated unions to consider sending or supporting observers for the November 2013 National Election in Honduras.